The “Oracle of Obama”

The clarity I had, about the importance of doing less wrong than doing more right in the world of business, was substantiated in a recent article I read, about one of the most successful investors the world has seen – Warren Edward Buffett. The article, written by Vinod Iyer, an MBA graduate from BIM, swiftly takes the reader on a journey through Buffett’s successful business life, as one reads through the pages.
The article begins with describing a humble background that Buffett has in common with the vast majority of mankind. His birth in the town of Omaha, Nebraska, USA, and his first income tax return at the age of 13, deducting his bicycle as a work expense for $35. The most important feature of the article, if one might observe, is the way the author delicately places quotations at the right places of the article, to describe a certain event or phase in Buffett’s life.
It then describes each value and principle that characterized Buffett as a potential entrepreneur, as he slowly drifted away from being a common man, to being what he is – a man with the ‘Midas touch’. The most noteworthy of all principles Buffett adopted, during his pursuit for success is “value investing” – Buffett’s investment principle – an ability to look at the inherent value of every company he decides to invest in. As the Oracle himself quotes “the investor of today does not profit from yesterday’s growth”.
The article in its last words supports an underlying code of ethical conduct and belief in ones own values, which supplemented Buffett’s quest for success. Buffett’s words - “I want to give my kids just enough so that they would feel that they could do anything, but not so much that they would feel like doing nothing” – supports both his core values, and his decision to donate 99 percent of his wealth to charity. One sure can draw a great deal of inspiration from this legend our world has delivered.

The Broken "WALL"

Background

The WALL is collapsing! Not the Berlin WALL again but the NYSE with its new lows for over a decade collapsed not the WALL STREET alone but the entire global economy. With the Housing and Mortgage tensions heating up the finance houses turning them bankrupt losing investors’ confidence, axing out jobs, churned securities market and the consequences getting worse.

The Ripple Effect

The failure of the Housing and Mortgage sector was never a big problem until Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae; US’ largest housing finance providers filed bankruptcy. Not many days it took for the other US giants to follow “2 F’s”, as an initiative, the jobs were cut and the loss being broadcasted on the news dragged the share prices to the rock bottom and finally, Lehman Brothers filed bankruptcy with $3.9 Billion and later joined, JPMorgan Chase, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, AIG, Wachovia, GM, Bear Stearns and the list grows.

The government’s rescue aid as Merrill Lynch’s acquisition by Bank of America, Lehman turned bankrupt, AIG being nationalised with 80% government stake, $200 Billion financial aid to Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae together, but the situation getting worse and a $50 Billion aid to automakers is on the America’s card.
The crisis ruined the European and the Asian securities markets making them lose trillions of dollars each day. The global fuel demand has dipped with crude quoting below $89 a barrel and the currency values going up and Rupee nearing 50 a dollar.



Sceptic Conclusion

The question arises; these bankrupts own assets worth trillions of dollars, with diversified products and business around the world, are they so vulnerable with their bottom-line to manage the $3.9 Billion deficit and these organizations are “too big to fail” in business.
As the conclusion, “this is not a global recession, but a movement towards stagnation”, describes economists.